"—Oof!"
"Aaaah!"
Morning in the fortress began not with birdsong or sunlight—but with Kain getting stepped on.
He jolted awake with a strangled wheeze, pain bursting across his ribs as a small heel dug directly into his side.
The child he'd rescued yesterday stumbled backward in fright, eyes wide, lip trembling. Kain rolled onto his back, clutching his ribs.
"Ow—ow—okay—okay—time out—!"
The boy let out a tiny hiccuping sob, scrambled backward, tripped on the blanket, and curled up on Kain's bed with tears filling his eyes, shoulders shaking.
The commotion jarred Serena awake. She sat up slowly, silver hair falling over her shoulder in soft waves, a faint crease between her brows as she blinked blearily.
"What… happened?"
Kain raised a hand from the floor like a wounded soldier reaching for help.
"He stepped on me…" he croaked.
Serena blinked.
Then blinked again.
Then her gaze drifted toward the child sniffling in a bundle of sheets on Kain's bed—
